On December 20, council members will decide how much money will be allocated to finance the company in 2024. The city council has not guaranteed permanent funding for Krakow 5020 and has not secured funds in the long-term financial projections. This means that the company will have no money from the city, and its revenues will be so low that it will not be able to survive. Izabela Bawszczyk, President of Kraków 5020, calculated in an interview with “Wyborcza” that for the company to be able to carry out the tasks assigned by the city, it needs approximately PLN 50 million. At the same time, he will receive only PLN 15 million from the city. This means cuts and layoffs.
After March 1, many people will be turned away, and tourists will only be able to use the points at Wyspiański Pavilion, at ul. Saint Jana and at Krakow Airport. The remaining places – up to six points – will be closed or change owners.
At the beginning of the second quarter of 2024, the only information point for tourists in Kazimierz will be in Krakow, at ul. Josefa. As of March 1, PIT at ul. will also be closed. Szpitalna Street in Planty. The point in Sukiennice will also be closed. The owner – and with him the concept of the place – will change the Nowa Huta InfoKraków point at ul. Zgody 7. The same will happen with the point in Powiśle near Wawel. After the renovation of this space, it will be taken over by the local tourist information.
According to employees, the choice of liquidation outlets is baseless. — Points in Sukiennice and ul. Szpitalna is among the most visited places in the InfoKraków network and generates the highest income from sales. They claim that they also have a small footprint, which does not generate high maintenance costs.
– Our team is at the point in the Mujahideen. Szpitalna is an invaluable aid for people using public and regional transport, and is also the first port of call for foreign and Polish tourists on the way from the main railway station. The Cloth Hall is the only tourist information point on the city’s main square, which is visited by more than 8 million tourists annually. Point for each property Zgody 7 is an important meeting place for the residents of Nowa Huta, as well as a showcase for tourists interested in this part of the city. The employees believe that its closure would be an irreparable loss, because in reality all tourist traffic would have to be captured by only two points of InfoKraków.
On Wednesday, December 13, a trade union was created at Kraków 5020, which will supervise, among other things: exemptions at tourist information points. Representatives of Kraków 5020 declined to comment on the whole matter.
Source: Gazeta Wyborcza
